


a ghost of a chance

by TheMintPen



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-13 17:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5711059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMintPen/pseuds/TheMintPen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke should not be the one to call in the event that you are afraid of a ghost. </p><p>Prompt: “It’s 3 am and I’m still in the library studying for finals and I’m losing my grip on reality and I think I just saw a ghost.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Between the weather and the looming shadow of finals hanging over him, Makoto was not his usual cheerful and easygoing self. Then again, the fact that it was nearing three in the morning might have had something to do with it as well. He sighed while he leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms high above him and wincing a little when he heard a definite pop somewhere in his shoulders. How long had he been hunched over like this?

The library on campus was one that was open twenty-four hours to students so Makoto had been spending as much time as possible studying in a corner here instead of attempting to do so in his dorm room. While he got along with his roommate most of the time, their ideas of studying were rapidly different. Plus there was something about coming to the library that made it easier to study, perhaps he just felt smarter surrounded by all the books and articles that were packed in from floor to ceiling. Or perhaps it was because every other student looked like they would gladly be hit by a car in the school crosswalk so they wouldn’t have to take their finals so Makoto felt like they all silently understood each other.

He decided a little break would be a good idea and then he could finish up the chapter he’d been reviewing before going back to his room and catching a few hours of sleep before needing to be up in the morning. It wasn’t the healthiest of lifestyles, but it worked for him right now. Makoto reached up and took off his glasses, setting the black frames on the table as he pulled his phone out from his backpack. While he wasn’t expecting anything urgent at three in the morning, his cell had been on silent for a few hours so a few missed messages could have snuck through.

There were a few messages from Haru, Makoto smiled and shook his head as he best friend conveyed his frustration that his school’s pool had to be closed for some repairs this week so practice was unfortunately out of the water. Rin apparently promised they could go to one of the local fitness club’s pools later on, so Haru seemed happier in later messages. Makoto noticed he also had a missed voice mail from home, probably just Ren and Ran calling to tell him about something. He took the headphones he’d been wearing off of his ears and was prepared to dial his voice mail when he heard something.

Makoto jumped in his seat, already feeling a sick, sinking feeling in his stomach. The maintenance staff had come through hours ago, so it couldn’t be one of them. He also was positive that he had been the last one on this floor after the girl sitting at a table behind him suddenly pushed everything off the table, sighed, picked everything back up, and left muttering something about setting fire to her eyeballs around midnight. The few staff who worked the graveyard shift in the library didn’t come up to the third floor this late at night either. When he didn’t hear anything else, Makoto sighed in relief scolding himself, why was he getting so worked up? His mind was probably playing tricks on him-there it was again!

The young man tried in vain to scrunch up in his seat, but sore muscles and long limbs made that rather impossible. It couldn’t be....it wasn’t possibly....no. No. No. He wouldn’t even think it. The word would not even cross his mind. No. Of course trying NOT to think about the library potentially being haunted only made him think about the library being haunted more and that the ghost of some disgruntled student who had died from over exhaustion during finals week was coming to kill him. Before he could even think twice, Makoto quickly brought up a series of text messages and quickly typed out, _‘Please tell me our library isn’t haunted.’_

To his surprised, a reply came within a minute, granted it sounded very confused. _‘Makoto, are you still at the library this late? Don’t you have class in the morning?’_ He groaned at the lack of an answer to his question and typed back,

_‘Yes! I’m still here and I think there’s a ghost here too!!!’_

_‘Oh.’_

_‘Oh???? Oh what????’_

_‘Now that you say that...I remember hearing stories about some murdered student haunting the third floor library at night. Apparently it really likes going after unsuspecting and stressed out students during finals. Especially if they’re tall.’_

_‘SOUSUKE!’_

Of course Sousuke was little help in the matter, he was making the whole thing worse! It had been a bit of surprise to Makoto to number one, discover that he and the former swimmer attended the same college and were in a few classes together and that number two, Sousuke seemed to rather enjoy teasing and winding Makoto up. The two men had been hanging out quite frequently since the beginning of the year, but now Makoto was wishing he had never thought to ask Sousuke for help. He looked down as another series of messages came through.

 _‘The ghost also really like brunettes with green eyes. A swimmer’s physique is quite a plus too. I think someone said it also can tell when a person has a special bond with cats, the ghost loved cats. There are stories that say the ghost will wander around you for a little while, sizing you up and putting you on edge.’_ Makoto couldn’t help but whimper a little as he read the text, unable to tear his eyes away from the message as he sat there, definitely feeling something watching him. _‘The ghost will appear behind you, wrap it’s arms around your shoulders, and will somehow know your name right before it...’_ He waited, but Sousuke didn’t add more.

 _‘Before it what???’_ Makoto took the bait _‘BEFORE IT WHAT???’_ Then suddenly Makoto felt a pair of arms slip around his shoulders and a low but familiar voice whisper in his ear,

“Tachibana Makoto.”

He couldn’t help it. He screamed.

Makoto screamed and attempted to pull out of the arms holding him, the body the arms belonged to now seemed to be shaking with laughter. He lifted his hands to cover his, now fifty shades of red, face. Makoto was torn between turning around and smacking Sousuke or just letting himself stand there and stay held up by his arms, because he was sure that he would have been on the floor right now if it hadn’t of been for them. “Sousuke...” he finally managed to groan out after hearing the other man’s laughter die down and little and feeling his arms tighten around him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” his body was still shaking with remnants of laughter while Makoto’s was slightly shaking with the after effects of the minor heart attack if felt as though he’d been given. “You just gave me the perfect opening.”

“Why...why are you here anyway?” The realization that Sousuke was in the library at the three in the morning as well suddenly hit him. The taller man did not have the same drive for studying that Makoto did and although they’d spent a lot of time studying together and Sousuke had stayed late with Makoto sometimes just for company, it was still weird.

In response, Sousuke tightened his hold again and put his chin down on Makoto’s shoulder so his mouth was right next to his ear again. This time Makoto felt himself shiver for a whole different reason. “I was coming to drag you and your super brain out of here, you’ve been here almost all evening. Did you even eat dinner?”

“I...I had a granola bar in my backpack-”

“Jeez! And you get on my case for not being healthy!” He felt one final squeeze before Sousuke let go, Makoto’s shoulders suddenly felt a lot colder. He turned around in confusion as he watching Sousuke close his textbook and notebook before shoving them in his backpack and zipping it up, shouldering it himself and handing Makoto his jacket. “Come on, you’re getting out of here and getting some real food. There’s a twenty-four hour diner not too far from here.”

Makoto tried to protest as he felt himself slip his arms through his jacket, “B-but I need to finished this chapter! My finals-” He was silenced with a hand over his mouth, Makoto’s eyes widened at the gesture.

“Will still be here after you’ve eaten, showered, and slept.” Sousuke finished for him, a note of finality in his tone that left no room for argument, not that Makoto had much effort to argue. “Come on, you’re always worrying about others, let someone else worry about you for a change.” It seemed as though Sousuke was constantly saying those words to Makoto, when he wasn’t getting enough sleep, when he was working too many hours, when he forgot to eat a meal or two. He was always there.

Makoto’s body seemed to agree with the ideas that Sousuke had presented, plus he was still slightly freaked out over the whole “ghost” incident that he wouldn’t have been able to go back to studying anyway, so he looked away with a shy smile and simply nodded as he followed Sousuke out of the library, not minding in the slightest when he felt the other man put his arm back around his shoulders as they walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a tumblr: http://themintpen.tumblr.com/


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so many fluff tropes. so many. i'm also not sorry for making you suck a dork sousuke. i am no sorry at all.

“Order it.”

“But Sousuke-”

“Order. It.”

“I really don’t need anything.”

“It’s five dollars, Makoto. It is a five dollar plate of pancakes.”

“Really, I don’t-”

“I’ll just have orange juice and he’ll take the pancake platter. It’s all on one.” There wasn’t much room for Makoto to protest as Sousuke took it upon himself to order when their waitress seemed to magically appear by their table. She didn’t look too thrilled to be at work at three thirty in the morning so she wrote down their order and then walked away. “You’re eating something.” he turned his attention back to Sousuke who was giving him a look.

“I can pay for my own meal, Sousuke.”

“Do you have your wallet with you?”

“Of course I-” Makoto stopped as he reached down to unzip his backpack. He in fact hadn’t brought his wallet. In a somewhat hasty exit of his dorm room he had only made sure that he had his phone and his keys before leaving, his wallet was mostly likely sitting at his desk. “Didn’t.” Makoto finally finished, looking a little sheepish as he sat back up again, but Sousuke was just smiling at him.

The man sitting across from his tapped on his phone before turning it around to show Makoto. “You told me this fact at eight this evening.”

“What? I did?” Makoto could in fact not remember texting this to Sousuke. Before really diving into his studies Makoto had been texting a handful of people so any conversations he had honestly just blurred together at this point. He leaned forward, squinting his tired eyes a little at the thread where he had in fact shared with Sousuke that he left his wallet at home completely with a sad face. He also noticed that his name was listed as simply ‘Makoto’ in Sousuke’s phone. For some reason he couldn’t explain, that made him a little happy.

“Seriously, Makoto.” Sousuke sighed and shook his head as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. “You would collapse in the library, wouldn’t you?”

“I just have a lot on my plate, finals are right around the corner.”

“They’re still a couple weeks away. I don’t understand why all of you in the library are freaking out so early, you’re going to wear yourself down before the exams even start.” Sousuke had a point so instead of answering Makoto just played with the salt shaker on the table. A small beat of silence before Sousuke spoke again his voice a little softer but still carrying a scolding tone, “Hey.” He waited until Makoto finally made eye contact with him again. “I don’t mean to come off as a hardass, you just never take care of yourself.”

Makoto felt his mouth drop open, “I take care of myself!”

“If there was a man lying on the floor next to us bleeding you would be using your napkins to try and stop the blood. Then you would ride with him to the hospital all while you’re in danger of collapsing from hunger.” Makoto took a breath, but once again it seemed that Sousuke hit the nail on the head and both of them knew it. So, instead Makoto closed his mouth and puffed out his cheeks a little, slightly annoyed that Sousuke had been right about all of it. “I just mean,” he look back at the taller man as he ran his hand through hair, “for as much as you look out for people, you need someone watching your back too.”

At this statement, Makoto couldn’t fight the smile that crossed his lips. Hearing those words from someone were actual a bit of a relief even if he would never admit it out loud. “Thanks, Sousuke.” he finally looked a little more comfortable in his seat as he directed his smile at Sousuke. “I’m glad to have you around then.” He was expecting the normally rather stoic man to just nod at his thanks and then move onto to another topic, but instead Sousuke quickly averted his eyes and covered his mouth with his hand as he appeared to be blushing. Was Sousuke really blushing? It sounded as though he muttered something that sounded like ‘damn smile’ but before Makoto could question him about his own health his food arrived.

Once the smell of the warm pancakes and bacon hit his nose, there was no use in denying he was in fact starving. Makoto quickly grabbed the syrup bottle the waitress had left on the table (again leaving without saying much) and drowned his pancakes with the sugary substance. The first bite was absolute heaven and he continued to eat quickly, ignoring Sousuke sitting across him nursing the orange juice and looking very amused while Makoto practically shoveled the pancakes in his mouth.

“I take it they’re good?” Sosuke finally broke the comfortable silence after Makoto had slowed down a little bit, but the brunette still looked up with a bit of a surprised look on his face like he had forgotten that Sousuke was with him.

“Yeah, they’re really good! Did you want to try some?” he stopped eating and gestured down to the plate with his fork. Sousuke almost said no right away, but he figured it would make Makoto happy if he at least took one bite. Plus, they did look really good. The trouble was Sousuke hadn’t been given a set of silverware when the meal came so his bite would have to come from Makoto’s fork. The same fork that he had been watching touch Makoto’s lips for the past few minutes. Did a fork count as an indirect kiss? Did Makoto even think of it as an indirect kiss? Why the hell was he even thinking about it as an indirect kiss? It was a fork with pancakes offered to him, of course he was taking it. It had just also happened to in Makoto’s mouth.

Sousuke grabbed the fork and quickly took his bite to stop himself from thinking any longer, thankfully the taste of the pancakes and Makoto’s rather pleased look pushing most of the inappropriate thoughts out of his mind. Most of them.

They filled the rest of the meal with normal conversation, about their classes, what they’d heard from their friends, if they had anything going on, things you would expect to hear between too friends. When the bill came Sousuke watched as Makoto appeared a bit uncomfortable with him paying, he just smiled and shook his head while he reached for his own wallet. He walked up to the counter and paid for their meal and went back to the booth they had been in to grab his coat and leave a tip. Seeing Makoto was still frowning a little Sousuke spoke up as he put on his coat, “You’ll just have to take care of the bill next time.” Mentally he patted himself on the back for being rather smooth.

Makoto looked up, his eyes wide with surprise for a moment, but then another smile broke out. “Sure, the next time.” He finished putting on his own coat and slipping his backpack back on before sliding out of the booth. Makoto tilted his head a bit when he found Sousuke staring rather intently at him. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh!” Sosuke jumped a little, “You just have some syrup on your face.” He watched as Makoto lifted his hand to wipe away at his cheeks thinking the residue was there, but Sousuke shook his head and began to lift his own hand, pausing for a short moment before coming into contact with Makoto’s chin. It seemed as though time slowed slightly as Sousuke ran his thumb along his chin, dangerously close to his bottom lip. Sousuke could feel Makoto’s breath before he pulled away and quickly shoved his hands back into his pockets. He was blushing once again and trying to desperately hide it.

They walked back to the dorms, making light conversation again, and before parting ways Sousuke made Makoto promise that he would take a break from studying and get some sleep after his classes. Makoto laughed, but still agreed, it was probably a good idea anyway. They said their goodnights and Makoto quietly went back to his room, only bothering to take off his jacket before collapsing into bed, realizing how tired he was only when his head hit the pillow. He couldn’t help but think of Sousuke though and how he was more than willing to come find him at an hour such as this because he was concerned about him. Makoto knew that his family and friends cared about him and his well-being, but something like this, someone like Sousuke who was just so much more....bigger than him caring enough made him feel a little giddy inside. He really was grateful that they had found each other at a school as big as theirs and was able to fall asleep with relative ease and a smile on his face.

Meanwhile in another building and another room, Sousuke was pacing around his room going over everything he had done that night, if any of his actions made his feelings obvious. He threw himself onto his bed with a groan and grabbed his pillow to shove over his face. While running into someone he knew from high school hadn’t been on his list of things to do at college, the time he’d started spending with Makoto turned out to be rather welcoming and surprising. It was different with just the two of them and no other teammates around and before Sousuke knew it he found himself thinking about how nice Makoto’s eyes looked or that his smile could rival the sun. Sousuke had unexpectedly fallen. He had fallen hard.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look at me switching POVs randomly, i guess that's a thing now. 
> 
> thank you for all the kudos and comments so far everyone. they do really mean a lot. anyways, enjoy the fluff. the terrible, terrible fluff.

Nothing happened.

Well, not nothing per se, Sousuke and Makoto still went through the motions of a typical college student. Class, homework, stress, regret not doing more homework, stress some more, rinse and repeat. The two found time to meet up for the occasional lunch or a quick morning pick-me-up before a class, but nothing as intimate as their three in the morning diner excursion had been. So, nothing had happened for about a week.

Sousuke was trying to deny the fact that he hated not being able to at the very least see Makoto. They’d been texting throughout the day about non-important things. How cold it was, how you could see murder in some of their fellow students eyes, the tenure professor that Makoto had that just didn’t give two shits about the class anymore and made him a little easy, the things they normally talked about in person. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Sousuke just wanted to be near Makoto, to see him when they talked, the other man’s presence was comforting...among other reasons.

Thankfully, it seemed the universe decided to cut him a break for once and the stars aligned with their schedules for once on a Friday night. Sousuke had been busy himself, attempting to get a head start in a few final papers and projects, while Makoto had been juggling his part-time job as well as classes. They’d both been turning the other down for a night to get together, but that evening before Makoto had suddenly texted Sousuke that another co-worker asked if he wanted to switch shifts. He’d requested nothing too crazy like a three am meal ago, so Sousuke just offered up some movies in his room, that seemed a good a plan as any.

Now a part of him was regretting it.

He still had about a half hour or so before Makoto would show up so Sousuke was attempting to tidy up his room. It was amazing how cluttered and messy a tiny dorm room could get. He was also multitasking as he was chatting with Rin via Skype, his laptop open and placed on the sort of clean surface of his desk. Rin had called while Sousuke was in the midst of cleaning up and was relentlessly badgering his best friend, trying to figure why the hell he was cleaning his dorm room on a Friday night.

“I mean, come on, I can only assume you’re hoping to get lucky or something, right? You got a hot date later?”

“I already told you, it’s not a date.”

Rin hummed a little, “There’s definitely someone coming over though. Ooooooh, did someone offer to Netflix and chill?”

Sousuke stopped in the process of shoving a few sweatshirts in his closet and stared at the screen for a few moments while Rin grinned cheekily. “You know, I think you’re more annoying now that you’re in Australia.” Rin just grinned wider. A chirp next his laptop caught his attention and Sousuke walked over to check his phone to see a new text from Makoto saying he was on his way over. He quickly typed out a response and set his phone back down only to see Rin squinting his eyes at him. “What?”

“There IS someone you like coming over, isn’t there.”

“What?” Sousuke tried to keep his expression smooth, but Rin had technically hit the nail on the head. “Why do even think that?”

“Because of how you looked just now.”

“How I looked?”

“Yeah. Cause like ninety-nine percent of the time you look like one of those fucking statues on Easter Island.” Sousuke narrowed his eyes at the camera. “Yeah! Exactly like that! When you were texting this mystery person though you’re face looked like a kid on their birthday who really got that sweet bike they wanted.”

“That’s an oddly specific scenario.”

“You’re still dodging the question. Now, who is coming over?” As if on cue there was a knock on his door and Sousuke left the computer to go answer it with Rin attempting to call out to his trailing back. “Sousuke! Turn the laptop around, I want to see! Oi, don’t ignore me!” He continued to faintly call out as Sousuke opened the door to see Makoto standing there with a smile, holding what looked to be a bag of groceries.

“Hi, Sousuke! Someone let me in so I was able to come straight up. I’m not too early am I?”

“No, no. My room wasn’t getting much cleaner anyway, come in.” He stepped aside for the slightly shorter man to come in and shut the door behind him, grateful that it cut off some of the noise of his fellow floormates who were still clinging to the idea that Friday nights only existed to go out drinking.

Before either of them could get another word in though, Rin’s voice once again cut through sounded more annoyed than it had been before. “Sousuke! I know you can hear me, you idiot!” Makoto’s eyes widened as he walked over to computer, and he smiled and waved when he saw who it was on Skype.

“Oh! Hi, Rin!” Sousuke walked over just in time to see a rather strange expression on Rin’s face, the gears in his head slowly turning. He smirked at the screen before speaking again,

“Well, Rin, we should probably be going. We’ve got a lot to do tonight and you added another thing or two to what I could maybe hope to accomplish.”

Rin stopped moving. “Sousuke, I swear to god if you even THINK about corrupting Makoto-”

“Byyyyye, Rin.” He waved goodbye with as sickly sweet a smile he could manage and shut the laptop before turning to a rather confused looking Makoto.

“A-a thing or two?” Sousuke didn’t answer right away, not really wanting to bring up whole suggestion of ‘Netflix and chill’ now that Makoto was here, he would probably run for the hills or something. Instead he coughed lightly to cover up the few seconds that had past and waved off his concern,

“Ah, it’s nothing to worry about. Just Rin being Rin.” Then his phone started chirping madly, notifying him of text message after text message. Groaning, he snatching it from his desk again, simply looking at the previews of the texts which were mostly in caps and attempts at being threatening. He quickly turned his phone on silent as a few more texts came in and placed it back on his desk.

“Sousuke.” Makoto’s spoke up, his voice sounding a little...well spooked would be the best word. He glanced up at the other man to see him staring down at his phone as well. “Why is Rin telling me to protect my innocence?” He smacked his forehead with his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose as he called Rin a few names under his breath.

“He-he thought I was getting ready for a date or something since he caught me cleaning up my room. I kept telling him it was nothing like that, but he kept on pushing the matter and then you showed up so I think he just sort of...came to his own conclusion.” Makoto was silent for a while before he just nodded, a small smile returning to his face as he slipped his own phone back into the pocket of his jeans.

“Oh, okay then!” And that was that, or so it seemed. Makoto said nothing more on the subject as he removed his shoes and puffy winter jacket, setting them on the ground near the door and then grabbed the grocery bag he’d brought over and hopped up onto the bed. “So, I tried to get a mix of both healthy and non-healthy snacks, but I think I definitely favored the non-healthy side of things.”

“Wait.” Makoto looked up, tilting his head slightly at Sousuke. “You’re okay with Rin assuming that this is like a date?”

Makoto laughed rather easily, “Rin always overreacts. Once he calms down I think he’ll remember that we hang out like this a lot now and realize that he was just blowing things out of proportion.” He was pulling out a variety of soft gummy candies as the said the sharp words that twisted in Sousuke’s gut. It was all true, Makoto’s reasoning for not freaking out was sound and on the nose, but Sousuke wished he would freak out just a little bit.

“Yeah, I guess.” He hide the slight disappointment on his face by walking over to his TV to turn everything on, finally sitting next to Makoto when his expression was normal. As they waited for the application to boot up Sousuke suggestion with a slight smirk, “So, horror movie, right?”

Makoto scolded him with a light punch to the shoulder, “If you do that, I’m leaving and taking all the candy with me.”

“Damn. I was really looking forward to checking out Treepocalypse 6: The Leavenge.”

“...please tell me that is not a real thing.”

“Do you want to find out?” Sousuke grinned at him and Makoto shoved a gummy bear in his mouth.

“I think I liked you better when I didn’t know you were just a tease.” Sousuke chuckled as he chewed the gummy bear and ideally began flicking through some of the choices, they stopped and debated on a few titles before Makoto pointed at one. “Oh! Gou told me that one is really good! She and Seijuurou saw it when it was in theaters.”

Sousuke couldn’t help but make a slight face, “Isn’t this a chick flick?”

“Don’t be like that! Gou said he really enjoyed it too!”

“Yeah, only because he’s whipped.” Despite his rather weak protests, Sousuke found himself moving over to the movie and selecting it.

_You’re just as whipped, if not more. By a guy who basically friendzoned you, without even realizing or intending to._

They settling in as the movie started, devouring one of the bags of the candy before the movie had barely started. It seemed to be the classic romantic comedy, full of hilarious misunderstandings and awkward situations. Sousuke spent most of the time making comments under his breath, if only so he could get a smile and a gentle slap out of the very invested Makoto. When the main couple had their first kiss during a light snowfall, Sousuke leaned in close and said, “You know that only happens in the movies, right?”

“It could happen! You never know!”

“What? Is it a secret dream of yours or something?”

Makoto blushed and hugged one of Sousuke’s pillows closer to chest as he mumbled a quiet, “Maybe...” Sousuke had to turn away because he started blushing, that was way too damn cute. Makoto must have thought that something else was wrong since he leaned up slightly and questioned him, “You alright, Sousuke?”

He coughed once but quickly nodded, “Yeah, yeah. M’fine. Hey, are you cold at all? I know I don’t keep the heat high in here.” Sousuke was also desperate to change to the subject.

“Well, now that you mention it I am a little chilly I guess.” He hugged the pillow a little tighter, as if he were trying to draw warmth from it.

“Jeeze, why didn’t you say so earlier?” Sousuke grumbled as he got off his bed and walked over to his closet to pull out on of his hooded sweatshirts. “I wore it yesterday but it’s the cleanest one I have.” Makoto looked like he was going to refuse it for a moment before Sousuke shoved it into his lap. “Makoto, you are not inconveniencing me by taking the sweatshirt that I am offering to you.” The other man nodded and quickly slipped the sweatshirt over his head, it only looking slightly big on him. Sousuke thought that he saw Makoto bury his nose in the collar for a moment, but decided it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.

The rest of the movie went about the same, Sousuke calling out an over-used trope, Makoto laughing and scolding him, but he did find himself shutting his mouth during the all important confession and resolution scene at the end. The male lead had broken the female lead’s trust by attempting to help her pay off some debt that had started the whole plot. They were both crying, he apologizing and tell her he only did it because he loved her, she spouting off some lines about if she couldn’t trust him with a simple request how could she trust him with her heart. Sousuke wasn’t invested in the plot, oh no, it was more like he was hyper-focused on the fact that throughout the move the two of them at gravitated towards the center of the bed and were now sitting very close together. Like arms touching close.

He was rather ashamed that he was this excited about the accidental body contact, but could one blame him? Anyone would probably be the same in his situation. Makoto was of course too focused on the plot to really notice how close they were, but Sousuke couldn’t help but notice that if he moved his hand just a few centimeters to the right, their hands would be touching. He lifted his hand slightly when Makoto suddenly turned to him and spoke, lifting his hand to wipe his eye and breaking the contact their bodies.

“Gou was right! It really was a sweet ending.”

Sousuke forced a slight laugh as he brought himself back to the present, “You didn’t see that ending from a mile away?”

“It’s not the ending that matters, it’s how they resolve it and what lies ahead for them after.”

“You have a philosophy for romantic comedies?”

Makoto didn’t reply to this question, but his light blush and the fact that he immediately popped another gummy bear in his mouth spoke volumes. It was still pretty early and neither of them admitted to being tired yet so they found another movie to watch, this one a popular animated movie that had been big when it came out it theaters. Sousuke had hit the play button after Makoto made a comment that it was his favorite movie to watch with his siblings. An entire chorus singing ‘whipped’ sung in his head as they settled in again, this time Sousuke actually paid attention to the movie.

About halfway through the movie, which Sousuke had to admit did have a pretty good plot for a kids’ movie, he felt something hit his arm. He looked over to discover a sleeping Makoto was now leaning up against it, clearly passed out and down for the count. Sousuke panicked for a slight moment, but then found himself smiling, of course Makoto wouldn’t admit to being tired. The other man was probably more exhausted than Sousuke with all the work he had on his plate, he probably hadn’t had a full night of rest in a while.

This was the entirely sound and rational reasoning behind Sousuke’s decision not to wake Makoto up and instead he gently lifted his arm and guided Makoto’s head down so it was resting on his thigh. He grabbed a blanket at the edge of his bed and covered up the sleeping figure as much as he could from his angle and turned down the TV a little bit. Sousuke let his arm rest at Makoto’s back for a little while, gently running his thumb back and forth on a small part of his back before he made himself stop. It felt a little creepy to do that with out permission, however he still didn’t move his arm though.

A few moments later he reached over and grabbed his phone to set an alarm in the event that he fell asleep unexpectedly as well and was not surprised when there were about six more texts from Rin yelling at him. He sent a simple saying _“Dumbass.”_ before opening the newest text, surprised at this one. It was from Haru.

_“If you hurt Makoto, I will hurt you.”_

It was simple and to the point, just what Sousuke would expect from Makoto’s best friend. However, If Haru was sending threatening texts like that, did he believe there was something going between them? Or that there could be something between them? He stared down at Makoto’s sleeping face for a few seconds before sending back simple words of his own, _“Don’t plan on it, but got it.”_ If Rin was protective of Makoto, Haru was, well stalker was the best word Sousuke could think of right now. Like his text said though, hurting Makoto was the last thing Sousuke wanted to do, he would fight anyone who hurt the other man himself if he could.

Still, there was something akin to hope in the back of his mind now. Hope that because of Haru’s warning, maybe Makoto had told him something. Something that made him think he maybe wasn’t alone in his feelings, maybe they weren’t as one-sided as he thought. Sousuke tried to suppress the huge grin on his face, but that was certainly difficult when your crush was laying in your lap and you maybe, just maybe had hope that he liked you back just as much.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : )

_Wednesday Morning_

There were only about two weeks to go until the end of the semester and Makoto looked like he hadn’t slept at all. That was the first thought that crossed Sousuke’s mind when saw his friend hunched over a table in the dining hall. He was busy scribbling away in a notebook, glancing between that and the open textbook next to him a plate of fruit from breakfast lay forgotten on the table. Sousuke walked up and and simply stood by the table next to Makoto for a few moments, not saying anything and seeing if at the very least Makoto would feel someone staring at him and look up. No such luck.

“Are you trying to get a hunchback?” Sousuke finally spoke up and couldn’t help but smirk slightly when Makoto jumped at the sudden noise and had a look of panic on his face for all of three seconds. He visibly relaxed when he saw it was Sousuke standing next to him, but it was very easy to tell the brunette hadn’t been sleeping well.

“Sousuke! You startled me.” Makoto did smile at the other man, though it was a weak and tired looking one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Ah, I guess I was getting too into my studying again.” he laughed a little as he put down his pencil and stretched his arms out. “I’m desperately trying to get down some information for my final anatomy project.”

Sousuke made a face as he reached over to pilfer a slice of apple from Makoto’s forgotten breakfast late. “Ugh, I know that feeling. I will be sick of speeches and presentations come the break, thankfully none of mine are group or partner projects. That would be horrible.”

Makoto reached up to rub his neck as he let out another weak laugh. “Yeah, that’s kind of my problem.” He paused for a moment before rapidly adding, “No! It’s not a problem or anything! More like...like...” The man trailed off, not sure how to get himself out of the slight hole he felt he’d dug himself into.

“A problem?” the taller man leaned his arms on the table as he fixed Makoto with a concerned look. Even Sousuke was aware that Makoto wasn’t one to share any problems or concerns he was having. He’d went with his team to the ocean, one of his greatest fears for god’s sake! If there was any chance that Sousuke could help Makoto out, even with something as lame as a group project, he would jump at the chance. However, it seemed Makoto was brushing off his question.

“No! No! Seriously it’s nothing.”

Sousuke raised an eyebrow and simply said, “Makoto.” Then he waited as he stared, watching Makoto fidget and blush lightly under his gaze.

He finally sighed and spoke again, “It’s-it’s really not that big of a deal, Sousuke. It’s just my partner and I are having some...communication problems I guess. He must not be sure of what needs to be done or what he should be doing since he doesn’t do a lot when we’re working.”

Of course he would try and make it seem no one was at fault. Sousuke shook his head as he said, “So, you have a shitty partner who isn’t pulling their weight.”

“I-I wouldn’t put it like that. Hiro just gets....distracted.”

“Bullshit.”

“Sousuke, please.” he gave his friend another tired smile, “It will all work itself out.”

“You want me to talk to him?” What? What had he just offered to do? Sousuke had just offered to talk to his friend and crush’s horrible excuse for a partner? For something as simple as a college final? Sousuke the master of the spoken word? Makoto looked just as confused as he felt, but he covered it up pretty quickly.

“What? Oh, no! No, no, no! That’s really not necessary! Like I said, it will all work itself out.” He spoke as he started packing his things up, “Please, don’t worry about something like this, Sousuke. It’s not important.” Sousuke made a slight tch noise under his breath at Makoto’s comment, but whether he heard it or not was not made clear. “I should get going though since I’ve got class. Maybe we can get together this weekend though?”

The hopeful look on Makoto’s face hit Sousuke hard so he just stupidly nodded and replied, “Y-yeah.” he cleared his throat when his head finally caught up to the conversation and added, “I’ll come drag you out of your study cave if I need to.” Makoto laughed at this, a real laugh, and it sounded so wonderful to Sousuke. Damn, he was completely gone.

No matter how he tried to put it out of his mind though, Sousuke sat through much of his own breakfast thinking about Makoto’s shitty partner. That wasn’t fair to a guy like him, Makoto wouldn’t say anything and would probably just do the work himself. He didn’t need or deserve that kind of added stress, especially right now. It wasn’t like Sousuke knew who this Hiro kid was though, he wanted to do something...he just wasn’t sure what.

_Saturday Afternoon_

While the two men had indeed managed to find the time to get together over the weekend, they didn’t make it off campus. Instead they had commandeered one of the tables in the library and were both busy studying. Makoto had felt bad about Sousuke even suggesting this as an option, but he was grateful for the company. It was hard to not laugh though as every time he looked up from his own notes, it seemed like Sousuke’s glare intensified at the words and information in front of him. He finally couldn’t help it any more and chuckled, “Did Shakespeare do something to offend you?”

“Yeah, he existed and supposedly wrote this crap.” Sousuke sighed and looked up from the outline he was working on. “And why the hell did I get all the luck and manage to get Romeo and Juliet as my paper topic? It’s ridiculous! That whole play is ridiculous! There is nothing romantic about it.”

“I do agree with you there. It’s more tragic than anything else.”

“Thank you for being sane, Makoto. Rin got mad at me when I told him that and went on a thirty minute rant about how it’s a beautiful story about forbidden love.” Sousuke used air quote around the final part of his sentence, if it wasn’t clear how he felt about the whole play. Makoto just laughed again and was prepared to go back to his own notes when he noticed something. He quickly capped the highlighter he was using and pushed back his chair, making a quickly apology to Sousuke as he walked over to another man standing near the bookshelves.

“Hiro, hey.” Makoto smiled at his classmate as he finally approached him, although Hiro didn’t do much to acknowledge his presence. “I thought I’d catch you and ask if you’d had a chance to finish the diagrams we need for the presentation? Since those are a big focus we should probably put them on as quickly as possible and-”

“Makoto.” he was cut off quickly when Hiro spoke, “Look, I’ve got this huge test in my math class, you know one that’s actually important to my major and a requirement. Not like anatomy.” That fact that it looked like Hiro was checking out books for leisure reading didn’t quite support his claim. “You’re a super reliable guy so I think it would just be better if you got those done, I’m not going to have time before the next class to put them together.” He lifted up one of the books he was holding and lightly tapped it against Makoto’s chest. “I’ll label them and we’ll call it even, okay?”

Makoto opened and closed his mouth a few times before he found himself smiling and nodding. If this class was only an elective for Hiro it was obvious he should focus on which classes were important to him. “S-sure. I can do that.” Despite finding himself agreeing with the reasoning at hand, Makoto had a sick feeling in his gut as he agreed to the separation of their tasks.

“Great! Knew I could count on you!” Hiro tapped his chest with the book once more before taking saying goodbye and leaving Makoto standing near the bookshelves feeling very...conflicted. He shook his head though, he just had more work to get through now, he couldn’t stand here and be mopey. Plus, Sousuke was probably concerned that he had been gone for so long. He made his way back to their table, apologizing for leaving so suddenly and Sousuke fixed him with the same intense stare he’d been giving Shakespeare before, although it looked a little kinder when it was directed at him.

“Who was that?”

“Oh, that was Hiro.”

“Hiro?”

“My partner for that project I told you about. I was just checking in with him on some things.” Makoto spoke quickly as he added a few more things to his to-do list. Sousuke frowned as he noticed this.

“Uh huh, some things.” The doubt in Sousuke’s voice was obvious as Makoto flinched a little before looking up at him.

“Please, Sousuke. Don’t worry about it.”

_Tuesday Evening_

Sousuke was worried. Makoto looked progressively more and more tired when they saw each other the next few days. He wasn’t sure why, but he had a feeling it had to do with his partner slacking off and taking advantage of Makoto. The man clenched his fists at the thought as he walked back to his dorm in the cold night air. He had gone to the gym for a light workout, just needing to get out of his room and out of his head for a little while. He had invited Makoto but been turned down in favor of studying, although he had been reminded to take care of his shoulder while exercising though. Sousuke was debating on whether or not to send another text to Makoto when a familiar looking figure caught his eye.

It was that poor excuse for a partner, Hiro. Sousuke thought he looked awful relaxed for a student in the middle of preparing for finals. He appeared to be laughing with some of his friends and Sousuke heard one of them mention something about a party later that night. Before he knew it, Sousuke’s feet had walked him over the group and he was addressing them. “Hey.”

His voice and sudden appearance (and overall appearance let’s face it) startled the small group and they all slowly nodded and said a quiet and collective “Hey” in response.

“You Hiro?” Sousuke fixed his gaze on the man immediately, feeling a little joy when he froze up at the attention.

“Depends on who wants to know.” Oh god, he was going for the tough guy act. Souske simply shifted so he stood at his full height and deepened his glare, he knew how to use his stature when it counted.

“Me. That’s who wants to know. But I also want you to stop screwing over your partner in your anatomy class. Makoto is far too nice to call you out on you bullshit, but I’m not.” Sousuke took one step forward as he finished, “Do your part on the project and stop making him more stressed out than he already is.” When it appeared that Hiro and his friends weren’t going to saying anything in response, Sousuke turned around and was started to leave.

Hiro must have wanted to seem like he had some bravery left and called out a rather shaky sounding, “O-or what?”

Sousuke stopped and slowly turned around to stare straight at Hiro for a few seconds before throwing his own question back, “Do you really want to find out?” When no response came from these parting words, Sousuke turned around again and walked the rest of the way back to his dorm feeling happy with himself. He could only hope this would alleviate some of the stress on Makoto.

_Friday Night_

It was a little weird that he hadn’t seen Makoto the rest of the week, it was even weirder that he’d barely gotten texts from his friend. Normally they were at least carrying on a conversation through texts on days they couldn’t see each other, but something had felt off since Wednesday afternoon. Sousuke could only think that Makoto was just working too hard, maybe he was burned out already. That would certainly suck when finals were starting in the middle of next week. Only a few more days though and they would be free for a while, until the next semester started. Sousuke was saved from going into more depressing thoughts about whatever the next set of classes could hold when there was a knock at his door.

He hopped off his bed and went over to open it, surprised to find none other than Makoto standing on the other side. “Makoto! What are you doing here?” Not that he wasn’t happy to see him, he just wasn’t expecting it. He looked...off too, and he wasn’t meeting Sousuke’s eyes. It seemed more like he was doing it by choice rather than from embarrassment like it normally happened.

“Hi, Sousuke. Can we talk for a minute? Inside?”

“Oh, sure. Come in.” He stood aside and let Makoto enter, closing the door and turning around to find Makoto standing there, looking rather stiff and unsure and still in his coat. “You can take your coat off you know.” Sousuke tried to make a joke, but it fell flat as Makoto shook his head still not looking at him,

“I won’t be staying long.” He then took a deep breath before coming right out with it, “Did you talk to Hiro?”

Okay. Sousuke hadn’t been expecting that. “Uh, yeah. I may have mentioned something to him.”

It almost appeared as though it pained Makoto to hear the admission, like he was hoping it wasn’t true. He closed his eyes and bit his lower lip before speaking. “Sousuke. I asked you not to do that. I told you everything was going to be fine.”

“He did the work didn’t he?” Sousuke was a little confused, what in the world was all this about. “He’s actually being a partner now, right?”

“That’s not the point.” Makoto’s eyes were still shut tight. “The point is I asked you to stay out of it and you didn’t. It wasn’t any of your business to butt into.”

“Makoto! He was walking all over you!”

“You don’t think I know that?” Makoto finally opened his eyes and looked at Sousuke, his eyes brimming with tears. “You don’t think I haven’t had that happen my entire life because of who I am? I am well aware of the fact that I am a doormat, that I let people walk all over me. I was trying to change that, I just couldn’t confront Hiro as quickly or easily as someone like you could!” Makoto’s voice was raising in volume and he was speaking faster, like he was trying to finish before any tears could leak out.

Sousuke was speechless though, any possible thoughts like that hadn’t occurred to him. “I’m...I’m sorry, Makoto. I didn’t think...I was just trying to do something for you for once.”

Makoto shook his head and practically spat out, “Well, it didn’t feel like something nice. It felt like you were trying to be the hero and swoop into to save the day. Poor, Makoto who can’t speak up for himself.” Sousuke felt his jaw drop at the words at expression Makoto had. It was all hurt. Hurt mixed with a pinch of betrayal.

Hurt was the last emotion he had ever wanted to cause Makoto.

And yet, he’d caused it.

“I...I think it’s best if we don’t see each other for a while.” Makoto took a shaky breath, his voice quieter now. “I’m going home for the break anyway, so...” he trailed off and started walking towards the door. As if on reflex, Sousuke reached out to grab Makoto’s wrist to stop him from leaving.

“Makoto, please! I didn’t-”

He didn’t stop, but he didn’t turn around. “I’m sorry, I snapped at you.” Sousuke let out a choked sound, of course he would still be thinking of apologizing at a time like this. “Good luck on your finals and have a good break.” Makoto tugged his wrist out of Sousuke’s hand and just like that he left.

Sousuke stood there for a few moments, staring dumbly at the door as if Makoto would re-appear and the whole thing would be fixed. He waited, five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty. Makoto didn’t come back. He wasn’t coming back. Souske reached up and gripped his hair as he mumbled obscenities, not making any sense as he paced around his room. Finally, he sat down on his bed and just held his head in the dark.

What did you do when you screwed up with someone like Makoto?

What did you do when you’re the person who caused him to make that expression?

What did you do when you’re the person who hurt him?

“What do I do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : (


	5. Chapter 5

Finals passed by in a bit of a blur. Sousuke knew he passed all his classes, he hadn't been worried about that even before the whole Hiro fiasco, but honestly he wasn't even sure if he cared whether he failed or not. He hadn't seen or heard anything from Makoto, not a text, not even a glimpse around campus. Either he was really good at hide and seek or he was so absorbed in his own studying that he rarely left his own room or the library. Sousuke really couldn't blame him if he was actively trying to hide from him, but he really hoped that wasn't the case.

The last few days had been filled with people packing and leaving the dorms for winter break, and a lot less crying and screaming at three in the morning. Sousuke wasn't planning on returning home himself, the holidays had never been a huge deal in his family and he was sure there would be work that would interfere with his family actually celebrating. It wasn't that big of a deal to him anymore, he was actually looking forward to essentially having the whole campus to himself for around a month, plus he'd been able to pick up a part-time job through the holidays and was able to take more hours now. Between work, training, and prepping for next semester, there was enough to keep him busy, but there wasn't enough to keep him from thinking about Makoto. He'd tried to go see the other man before he left for break, but his roommate had informed Sousuke that Makoto had already gone home for the break. He debated about texting him, at the very least wishing him a good break with his own family, but thought better of it. It just didn't seem right. It seemed pathetic.

Then again, Sousuke felt pretty damn pathetic.

Before he could spiral into a pit of self-despair and pity he felt his phone ringing and answered it right away, as if it were something to do. "What?" 

"Well, someone is his usual charming self."

"Rin." Sousuke sat up in his bed as he recognized his friend's voice on the other end, a little surprised but not unhappy for him to be calling. They hadn't really talked since another Skype session a few weeks before and aside from short texts here and there. Sousuke hadn't even told him about his fight (could it really be called a fight?) with Makoto, he didn't want to tell him yet.

"Sounds like you really screwed things up with Makoto."

"How-"

"Makoto told Haru and Haru told me."

"Oh." Of course he did.

"Come on, Sousuke. Did you really think I wasn't going to find out?"

"I was planning on telling you about it. Eventually."

He heard a snort in response before there were a few moments of silence on the other end. Then Rin spoke again, his voice a little softer this time. "What are you going to do?" Sousuke sighed as he flopped back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling as Rin asked him the question he'd been asking himself since that night.

"I don't know. What _should_ I do? You've known him longer."

"I've also never had him angry at me. Although, I feel like angry isn't the right word...more like disappointed. He didn't even really get angry when he and Haru had their big blow up."

"Believe me, I wish he was angry at me. I think that would be easier to take than this." Even when Makoto had talked to him about the issue, he still just seemed so polite. So calm and collected. He had snapped at Sousuke once and apologized immediately after that, it made the whole thing worse. "Has Nanase put a hit out on me yet?"

"Not yet, but I'd watch your back. Especially since they'll be spending a lot of their break together." Sousuke hummed at this before falling silent again. It was a few more moments before Rin spoke up again, "Sousuke. Do you want to fix this?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well, as long as I've known Makoto the truth has always been important to him. Give him the space he asked for during the break, but once he gets back tell him why the hell you did this. Don't turn it into an excuse though, just apologize and tell him why. That should be good enough for Makoto."

The truth, huh? The truth was he did it because he found himself caring too much about Makoto. The truth was he already wanted to protect the other man. The truth was he was already too far gone into this little 'crush' that there was no way he was going to make it out unscathed if they truly did go their separate ways. There was no way Sousuke was saying all of this to Rin though so instead he just hummed again and replied with a simple, "Okay." The pair then moved onto to other, safer, topics. Rin's family, the holidays, school, swimming, anything else really. Anything else to take Sousuke's mind off the fact that he had a whole month to think about why he had done what he did, and that still didn't seem like enough time.

\-----

Makoto had been home for about a week and he already felt like it had been a month. Despite the fact that Ran and Ren were still in school for a while themselves, they commanded much of his time (which he was happy to give them) but they were still so exhausting. Being home also meant seeing old neighbors and friends, he'd met up with Nagisa and Rei a few times already and Haru had come home the day before. He was happy to have so much going on, since that prevented him from thinking about how he'd left things with Sousuke, how he had chose to leave things.

After that night, he had thought about going over to Sousuke's room and apologizing, telling him it wasn't a big deal, that they should just forget about what happened and go back to being friends, or whatever they were on track to being. Makoto would be lying horribly to himself if he didn't acknowledge the fact that during all the time they'd been spending together the past semester, he didn't develop a crush on the other man. Of course, talking about the whole thing with Haru probably helped too. In fact that seemed like what they were on track to do at the moment, talk about it again but in person this time.

Haru was spending the night and the two had been in charge of watching the twins as Makoto's parents went to a holiday work part for his father. They had finished putting Ren and Ran to bed after they'd fallen asleep in the middle of watching Rudolph and were now getting ready for bed themselves. Although Haru didn't say anything, Makoto could just feel it, both in his stare and in the atmosphere between them, that he was going to bring it up. It was no secret that Haru and Sousuke has some bad blood between them, so Makoto was a little worried about he would say now that it wasn't just texting. After he finished brushing his teeth he sat down on his bed next to Haru, his back resting against the headboard, and smiled at him as if to say 'go ahead'.

"Do you want to forgive him?"

Makoto opened and closed his mouth a few times, not expecting that question at all. He quickly responded once his mind caught up to the words though, "O-of course I do! I don't want to not speak to him ever again!" Haru nodded, like he'd been anticipating that answer.

"What's stopping you then?"

What _was_ stopping him? What had stopped him every time he also went to visit Sousuke before break started to sweep things under the rug? Why was he keeping his space? "I want," such a rare combination of words to hear from Makoto's lips, "him to realize that I'm not the same person I was before. I-I know it's only been a few months, I know it's unrealistic for someone to really change who they are that quickly, but I want him to realize that I don't need someone to be a hero for me. I just...want..." Makoto trailed off realizing himself that he wasn't sure what he really wanted from Sousuke.

Haru shifted on the bed, grabbing on of the pillows and hugging it to his chest before leaning his chin on it. "Did you tell him this?"

"Well...no..." Haru raised his eyebrows, communicating a simple 'How is supposed to know then?'. Makoto couldn't help but laugh a little, "I guess I just thought that he would pick up on it. Like you would. But it's different, not it a bad way, it's just different." Makoto leaned his head back with a sigh, trying to get a hold of all the thoughts swirling around inside his mind. "Maybe I was a little quick to put all the the blame on him-"

"He still deserves at least ninety-five percent of it." Haru interjected.

"I do need him to understand this though. I want him to understand this."

There was a silence between the two friends for a moment or two before Haru nodded and moved to lie down next to Makoto on the bed. "Sounds like you've reached your conclusion."

"I guess so." Makoto smiled to himself as he watched Haru turn off the light beside the bed and move under the covers. "Thanks, Haru-chan."

Just as he expected, Haru scoffed lightly and responded, "I told you to drop the chan."

 

\-----

The rest of the break seemed to pass by in a blur. Makoto's was filled with endless requests and days out with his siblings. Sousuke's were filled with working long hours and making sure his shoulder stayed in good shape. The only communication between the two was a simple 'Merry Christmas' text from Makoto to Sousuke on the holiday in question, with Sousuke responding in kind.

Now, the dorms were lively again. Classes were due to start on Monday so from Friday on people were coming back again, laden with treats and gifts from home as well as more expensive textbooks and course materials. However, instead of being in his own room unpacking, Makoto was sitting at a table in a cafe near the school across from Sousuke who was nervously playing with one of the empty sugar packets he'd emptied into his coffee. They had exchanged pleasantries about their breaks, sharing a little information before it turned into awkward silence. Suddenly then spoke up at one.

"I'm sorry-"

"I didn't mean-"

That seemed to break the tension between them as both men started laughing, really laughing, Makoto wiping tears from his eyes and Sousuke clutching his stomach slightly. Once they had both calmed down, Makoto gestured for Sousuke to go first.

"I'm sorry." he said again, making sure his apology was first. "I'm sorry I went and did what you didn't want me to do. I'm sorry if you thought I didn't trust you enough to handle the problem yourself. You really don't need to change anything about yourself, but if you are trying to become more assertive in your own way, I need to respect that. I just..." Sousuke trailed off, wanting to make sure this next part came out right. "This isn't an excuse, I want to make that clear. But I just...I care about you, Makoto." He was pleasantly surprised to see a faint blush rise on Makoto's cheeks as he spoke these words. "In my own way, I thought I was helping. I wanted to protect you, it didn't even cross my mind that I was hurting you instead. I was wrong about that though, and I really am sorry." Sousuke briefly wondered if throwing in another sorry or two would be overkill, but Makoto's smile answered that question.

"I appreciate that, Sousuke. Really, I do. I'm glad you listened to what I said and understand it." Makoto paused for breath, "But part of this was my fault too. I guess I just thought that you would just know that I was trying to change. That I wouldn't need to tell you anything and that you would just get it. I didn't tell you what I was thinking and then I got mad when you didn't figure it out. I'm sorry too." They just stared at each other for a few moments, letting their words sink in before Makoto spoke up again. "So...where do we go from here?"

Sousuke thought for a moment, as much as he wanted to take the chance and ask Makoto out right then and there, he knew it wasn't a good idea. Not when their relationship had just been mended. "Do we start over?" Makoto took his own moment to think, tilting his head ever so slightly before looking up at Sousuke with a smile.

"How about we go back to where we left off _before_ we messed it all up? You want to watch a movie tonight?"

 

\-----

_6 Months Later_

"God, did you pack rocks or something?"

"Those are all my textbooks!"

"You mean you actually kept all of them?"

"There good for reference material! Stop making fun of me, Sousuke!"

Sousuke couldn't help but laugh as Makoto pouted placing a box of his own down in the living room. "Sorry, sorry. I know you have a lot to keep track of in that brilliant mind of yours." He was still laughing as he pulled the other man into a hug and kissed him on the top of his head, an action so familiar to both of them now but it still caused Makoto to intensely blush.

"I-I'll go see what's left in the car."

The two were in the process of moving into their shared apartment, currently just on a roommates basis but Sousuke was more than ready for that to change anytime. The two had been dating for a few months, Sousuke finally having enough courage to ask Makoto out on an actual date about halfway through the semester, and when they were discussing their housing plans for the next year Sousuke had suggested they get an apartment together. While Makoto had been opposed to the idea at first (a blushy, stuttering opposition) Sousuke had pointed out that they could save on rent by living together and they didn't have to have any romantic strings attached right away. The two men had found a rather cheap apartment with two bedrooms, figuring they could eventually change one into an office or something if the time came. Sousuke was already planning on claiming that something was wrong with the heat in his room so they could share Makoto's room...at least for the first night.

He sat down on the couch in the living room, still not quite believing the fact that he was living together with Makoto. Sousuke laughed again and leaned back against the couch, staying in that position even as he heard the front door open and close once again. Makoto appeared in his field of vision, smiling gently at him as if he was checking to see if he asleep or not. "Hi."

"Hey." Sousuke smiled back before reaching one arm up slightly and speaking quietly, "Come here." Makoto sat down next to him, fitting into his side perfectly and sighing against Sousuke's neck. They stayed like that for a few moments, Sousuke slowly feeling himself in danger of falling asleep until Makoto spoke up.

"We should start unpacking."

"Five more minutes."

"Sousuke, we have all the time in world to-"

"Five more minutes." He protested again as he pulled Makoto closer to him, smiling slightly as he heard the other man gasp.

"Okay." Makoto finally agree, leaning his head against Sousuke's shoulder as he felt his own eyes drooping as well. "Five more minutes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all she wrote! This chapter seems kind of rushed and definitely only hits the major points of the resolution (if you can even call it that) but I just couldn't write more without it seeming too much like filler content I guess? I mean, I honestly had no idea where this story was going. Like at all. So, I'm just happy I was able to bring it around to a conclusion. : ) 
> 
> Anyway, thank you all so much for your kudos and comments! They really do mean a lot!


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